[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
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"You're not really going to take part in this duel, are you?" Hermione kept muttering, following the two of them to the Quidditch training field.
"How is that possible? We're not stupid." Ron finally couldn't hold back anymore and muttered in a low voice. After saying that, he glanced around to make sure no Slytherin students were nearby.
Hermione looked at Ron suspiciously, as if to say: "You're not stupid?"
The girl's ability to express herself through facial expressions was impressive, especially her large eyes, which seemed to say so much. So much so that, even though Ron and Harry lacked the ability to read people's minds through expressions, they completely understood what Hermione meant.
Ron caught on immediately and turned to Harry. "Of course we lied to Malfoy. Who would actually go there in the middle of the night... Where were they supposed to meet again?"
He asked Harry, who was standing beside him.
"The trophy room entrance," Harry recalled. He had a good memory.
"Right, the trophy room. Who in their right mind would go to a place like that in the middle of the night to duel him? That's against school rules!" Ron stated as if it were obvious.
"But..." For a moment, Hermione couldn't quite process the fact that Ron could lie so confidently, although, this time, she completely agreed with him.
Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at the same time.
Lying certainly wasn't a good thing, but there were far worse things. Compared to them, lying was nothing.
Ron, however, had two older brothers, Fred and George, who had mischief in their blood and treated pranks as a lifelong pursuit. For him, lying was as natural as drinking water or breathing, a reflex that didn't even require thought.
Harry, who had spent his childhood dealing with Dudley, was also quite skilled at lying and was no less capable than Ron.
So, how could these two possibly feel any guilt over the conversation?
"Draco is obviously lying to us!" Ron said confidently.
"W-why?" Hermione still hadn't recovered from the slight collapse of her worldview. The way she had been raised made lying a rare occurrence for her, so she didn't share Harry and Ron's mindset.
"Look at what he said. Anyone who doesn't show up is a coward, right?" Ron pointed out.
Hermione nodded. "Is there something wrong with that?"
Apparently, little Hermione hadn't yet noticed the problem.
Ron had no choice but to continue, "Slytherins aren't like us Gryffindors. They don't honor bravery at all. And Draco? He's a coward. Whenever something happens, he runs away faster than anyone else. You've seen it yourself."
Hermione thought back to all the times Draco had provoked Harry, only to flee the moment Harry rolled up his sleeves and stood up. She nodded in agreement.
"So, the moment he said that, he had already decided not to go." Ron declared with absolute certainty.
Suddenly, Hermione felt that Ron's reasoning made a lot of sense.
But the Ron standing before her completely shattered the impression she had of him. Ron thinks things through this carefully?
Harry, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all.
Unlike Hermione, who buried herself in books all day, Harry and Ron spent nearly every day together. He knew very well that, despite Ron's cheerful and carefree appearance, he was actually quite intelligent.
This was evident from his favorite pastime: wizard's chess.
On the train, when Harry and Hermione had played wizard's chess against Ron, both had been utterly defeated. Hermione took it in stride, but Harry had been somewhat unwilling to accept it. He secretly learned a few strategies and even bought a new chess set, hoping the fresh pieces would be more obedient. But when he challenged Ron again, he was still completely defeated.
In fact, a private wizard's chess tournament had been held in the Gryffindor common room, and Ron's record stood at 67 wins and 1 loss, a lead far ahead of everyone else.
His only defeat had been against a fifth-year student, who was considered Gryffindor's best chess player.
The veteran played two matches against Ron, barely winning one and losing the other in record time. However, even in that narrow victory, Harry felt that her win was a little unfair, because that night, she had worn an exceptionally cute pair of pajamas, which had made Ron's eyes wander uncontrollably.
After that, the older student refused to play against Ron again.
So, how could someone with such exceptional chess skills not be smart? That made no sense.
Ron simply didn't show his intelligence often, and his magic wasn't always smooth, which gave people the false impression that he wasn't very bright.
However, despite being so sharp, Ron had always struggled with magic, a fact that confused and intrigued Harry.
…
First-year students didn't have classes on Friday afternoons, but third and fifth-years did. This meant there was no Quidditch practice.
Once they got used to the school routine, first-year courses were relatively easy.
A model student like Hermione usually finished all her weekend homework in the library on Friday afternoons, then spent Saturday and Sunday taking extra lessons.
People like Harry and Ron, on the other hand, usually spent Friday afternoons relaxing, finishing the easier half of their assignments, and then seeking help from Padma Patil in the library on Saturday mornings to complete the harder ones.
That left Saturday afternoons and Sundays for rest and fun. Of course, if Wood managed to book the Quidditch pitch, they'd have to practice as well.
However, as the new Quidditch season approached, the other three houses had started reserving the field more frequently, making it harder for Wood to secure a slot, something he had complained about many times.
The person he complained about the most was Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Armed with a note from Professor Snape, Flint had repeatedly stolen Gryffindor's practice slots.
"Slytherins are all equally shameless!" was Wood's final verdict.
Tonight was a little different. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had a Quidditch practice match on Saturday, so Harry and Ron were determined to be disciplined for once and follow Hermione's example, working overtime to finish their homework.
After dinner, the two of them took a quick nap before heading straight to the library with their textbooks, ready to study late into the night.
Hermione and Padma were already there.
Perhaps because they were both top students and often tutored Harry and Ron, their relationship had grown a bit closer. They met up more frequently now, though not as often as Harry and Ron, who were practically inseparable. Still, it was an improvement compared to before, when Hermione had no female friends around her.
The homework assigned by the professors was actually of very high quality. If one focused, it could be completed in a single day, and with a more relaxed pace, about a day and a half.
Since there were no classes on Friday afternoons, this gave students the chance to finish their assignments while still having plenty of time to rest and have fun over the weekend.
Academic geniuses like Hermione and Padma could finish their work by Friday evening, but it wasn't as easy for Harry and Ron.
By 8:30 p.m., Hermione and Padma had completed their assignments, while Ron and Harry were still far from done.
"Harry, I'm heading out now. Just follow this paragraph," Padma pointed to a passage in a thick History of Magic book.
"In the next section, when discussing the demon Emeric, make sure to also reference the dark creature Egbert. The two had many conflicts. And please, don't confuse Emeric with Ulric again!"
European children tended to mature early, and at eleven years old, Harry and his friends were entering that first stage of vague awareness.
Padma and her twin sister, Parvati, were considered among the prettiest girls in their year, especially since they were identical twins. Naturally, this drew the attention of many boys.
Harry himself had noticed them more than once. And now, with Padma standing so close to him, he could distinctly catch the soft floral scent of her hair.
He suddenly felt lightheaded. He heard her words, but he wasn't entirely sure if his brain had registered them.
Whether Padma noticed Harry's dazed expression or not, she lightly tapped his forehead with her pale, slender fingers and smiled sweetly.
"Study hard!" she said before flitting away like a joyful butterfly.
On the other hand, Ron wasn't so lucky.
"Here, here, and here. Don't just copy, repeat it. Repeat it, got it?" Hermione instructed as she flipped through several thick books, guiding Ron through his assignment.
Harry suspected that Hermione was still a little annoyed from the previous night, when Ron had outmaneuvered her in logic, and was now taking subtle revenge.
Ron could only nod repeatedly, mumbling, "Oh, oh, okay, okay, I got it."
But Harry clearly saw the tension in his eyes, filled with confusion and helplessness.
The library closed at 11:30, but Madam Pince left at 9:30.
In other words, students could continue doing their homework after 9:30, but they couldn't check out any more books. Since Harry and Ron had already gathered the necessary materials under Hermione and Padma's guidance, they hadn't paid attention to the time.
It wasn't until the library lights flickered off that they realized it was already 11:30.
"I was only two paragraphs away from finishing!" Ron cursed. He hadn't been much of a curser before, but Harry had led him down the wrong path.
"I only had one line left!" Harry groaned. He had made slightly faster progress than Ron, perhaps thanks to Padma's more patient tutoring style.
"Let's head back to the common room and finish there. Once we're done, we'll have the whole weekend free," Ron suggested.
Harry agreed immediately, and the two of them returned to the Gryffindor common room, carrying books of all sizes.
When they arrived, they found Neville dozing off under the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Neville, why are you out here?" Harry and Ron asked, though they weren't particularly surprised.
They had never seen him locked out before, but they knew it wasn't his first time.
The Fat Lady changed the password at least once a week, but usually more often, sometimes even daily. On rare occasions, she changed it multiple times in a single day. The record stood at three times in one day, before breakfast, before lunch, and before dinner.
Whenever the password changed, the prefects would notify the students and post it on the common room notice board, so it typically wasn't a problem.
Except for Neville.
Neville had a terrible memory and often forgot the password when it was changed during the day. And if he forgot it, he couldn't get into the common room or return to his dormitory.
His only option was to wait outside and hope another student came along to let him in.
Unfortunately, tonight he had returned a bit too late and missed the others.
"I was helping Professor Sprout and some Hufflepuff students with a small Herbology project. I lost track of time, and when I got back, I realized the password I remembered wasn't the most recent one."
Neville rubbed his eyes and looked a little embarrassed as he explained.
Harry nodded in understanding.
Neville's exceptional skills in Herbology had caught the attention of even Hermione and the top students in Ravenclaw, so it made sense that Professor Sprout would involve him in extra research.
As for forgetting the password, well, that was just typical Neville.
Suddenly, Ron glanced at his watch.
"Hey, it's almost midnight!"
"Yeah," Harry nodded. His brain felt sluggish after spending the entire night writing his History of Magic essay.
Ron gave him a knowing look and smirked.
"Do you think we should take a little trip to the trophy room entrance?"
Harry blinked at him, taking a moment to process what he meant.
Neville, meanwhile, blinked as well, completely lost.
******
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